State v. Robinson, 47401

Citation680 S.W.2d 292
Decision Date02 October 1984
Docket NumberNo. 47401,47401
CourtCourt of Appeal of Missouri (US)
PartiesSTATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Eugene L. ROBINSON, Defendant-Appellant.

Page 292

680 S.W.2d 292
STATE of Missouri, Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
Eugene L. ROBINSON, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 47401.
Missouri Court of Appeals,
Eastern District,
Division Six.
Oct. 2, 1984.
Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to
Supreme Court Denied
Oct. 30, 1984.
Application to Transfer Denied
Dec. 18, 1984.

Page 293

Debra Buie Arnold, Asst. Public Defender, St. Louis, for defendant-appellant.

John Ashcroft, Atty. Gen., Deborah Neff, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for plaintiff-respondent.

CLEMENS, Senior Judge.

The state charged and jury found prior felon defendant Eugene Robinson guilty of two offenses: Concealing a firearm (Count I), a felony under Section 571.070 RSMo., and possessing marijuana (Count II), a misdemeanor under Section 195.020 RSMo. The trial court sentenced defendant to ten years in prison on the weapon charge and a $100 fine on the narcotic charge. We treat the points separately.

The evidence: Pursuant to an anonymous tip officers stopped defendant's car, arrested and searched him. They found a .25 caliber pistol in defendant's "groin area, right at the back part of his groin area, right at the back part of his stomach up against the rear of his belt, inside his pants." The gun was cocked and loaded. The police could not see the gun's outline in his jeans.

Defendant's companion was his only witness. He testified to the arrest and search but denied seeing any gun.

At trial defendant did not object to the officer's statement he'd found defendant was carrying a concealed weapon. He now contends the trial court erred in omitting from the verdict director a clause defining a concealed weapon. Instruction MAI-CR 31.28 required the jury to find defendant possessed a concealable firearm. The gist of defendant's plain error contention is that the instruction omitted the prescribed definition:

"As used in this instruction 'concealable firearm' means any firearm with a barrel less than 16 inches in length, measured from the face of the bolt or standing breech."

There was no evidence of the concealed weapon's length. That it was concealed in rear of defendant's stomach, invisible to the police, would seem to show the weapon did have a barrel less than sixteen inches long. The defendant correctly argues the instruction erred in omitting the definition. But defendant not having preserved this point at trial, we limit the issue to considering whether omitting the definition from the verdict was plain error. We conclude...

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3 cases
  • State v. Rogers, 50615
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • May 24, 1988
    ...Harp, 680 S.W.2d 297 (Mo.App.1984), affirmed a conviction under § 571.030, RSMo 1986, the concealed weapons statute. In State v. Robinson, 680 S.W.2d 292 (Mo.App.1984), appellant was convicted and his conviction upheld on appeal for an offense under § 571.070, but no issue of enhancement wa......
  • State v. Jones, 52207
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • June 23, 1987
    ...State v. Arnold, 676 S.W.2d 61, 63 (Mo.App.1984). The appellant bears the burden of showing manifest injustice. See, State v. Robinson, 680 S.W.2d 292, 293-294 (Mo.App.1984). For several reasons we reject this claim of error. First, the record does not support defendant's claim that the pho......
  • State v. Hill, 52039
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • June 30, 1987
    ...as to a victim's extrajudicial statements has also been found admissible to show the course of an investigation, see State v. Robinson, 680 S.W.2d 292, 294 (Mo.App.1984), and State v. Ball, 622 S.W.2d 285, 290 (Mo.App.1981); or because the testimony is merely cumulative, see State v. Morris......

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